Michael Coorlim's Blog, page 41

Literature isn’t dead, it just smells funny

One concern levied against modern literature in the wake of the self-publishing movement is that in this market environment, the classic works of the past could not come to be. Critics have said that there is no modern James Joyce, no Wallace, there will be no more DeLillos.

They’re right, and they’re wrong

Today’s James Joyce is out there, but you won’t recognize him. He’d never write anything like Ulysses, because Ulysses has already been written. There’s no need for the daring artistic innovators to tread old ground, and that’s what most conventional literary fiction is, old ground. Classically educated scribes aping style that was innovative a century ago. Trying to write like dead men, writing for dead audiences.

Tomorrow’s James Joyce will not be writing for yesterday’s literary critics.

He probably isn’t writing for the critics at all.

Who is the next James Joyce

Good art, real art is a reaction to what’s come before it. Impressionism was a reaction to classical, surrealism was a reaction to realism, and dada was a reaction to the idea that art had to have meaning. Literary art works the same way, and the next great literary figure won’t be writing to fit any current established standards of taste.

She’ll be someone coming out of nowhere, possibly without any sort of prior recognition, working the medium in a way that is both entirely unexpected and utterly inevitable. The next revolution will come in the form of some weird epistolary twitter thing, or a sophisticated transmedia half-story half-alternate reality game. Something that pushes the boundaries. Something that isn’t even remotely a book. Something that makes the establishment uneasy and confused, because that’s what good art does.

Good art pushes boundaries. The boundaries of the 21st century, not wearing deep the trenches trodden by the innovators of the 20th.

You will not be ready

It won’t be anything you’ve studied. It won’t be anything you’re prepared for. It won’t be anything you’re expecting. If your mind isn’t open, it won’t even be anything you’ll recognize until you read other people raving about it.

Chances are, if you’re bemoaning the fate of books and literature, you don’t understand art well enough to catch it at all.

So the next James Joyce is out there, somewhere, right in front of your face. Can you see him?

 

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

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2014 Year in Review

What? Year’s over already?

Practically. Okay. What happened?

The year started out rocky with the death of a laptop and the scramble for a new one in February. In March I did an interview with Simon Whistler over at the Rocking Self Publishing podcast, and that was a lot of fun.

I experimented a little with a serial format with Infernal Revelation, a four part story released simultaneously to a positive reception but dismal sales. Unless they pick up tremendously I don’t think there’s the audience for a second season, which is too bad, because I have some great ideas for it.

Speaking of Serials, I started the Hero Historia web serial and ran through two seasons of it, the first released as an ebook, the second in revisions.

I released Grief as an audiobook. I released a book on indie author marketing, Sell Yourself, Not Your Books, which sums up how I feel about promotion.

The big news, I feel, was the establishment of the Burning Brigid production company with my co-producer Kat O’Connor. This gives me a vehicle to turn my screenplays into movies, something I’m super-excited about, particularly with the production of the Sleep Study web series next year.

I set up a Patreon for myself, for readers who want to support me directly in exchange for books. A few people have signed up for it, and I give them exclusive content from time to time. They’ll be getting snippits from Ghosts of Shaolin as I revise it, for example.

I transitioned Book Nouveau from a text-based book blog to a booktube vlog. That’s been fun. I made the effort to make more videos and actually developed my own youtube channel.

I participated in the 2014 Readathon, and wrote an 18-part series of NaNoWriMo advice.

It was a busy year. Didn’t get as much written as I’d have liked, perhaps, but I had a lot on my plate.

How was your 2014?

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

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The Player-GM Contract

There are as many different ways to approach the dynamic of roleplaying games as their are people who play them.

When I was young I was very much the autocrat, and, I’m ashamed to say, an adversarial GM. Maybe I can place the blame on the context the games gave us back in the 80s and early 90s. Or maybe I was just an asshole.

I don’t get to game very often these days, but when I do, I prefer something with a little less artificial distinction between “people who are playing” and “the guy making it happen.” I’m not there to entertain you. I’m not there to frustrate you. You’re not here to engage in wish-fulfillment fantasies.

Why do we even bother?

We’re here, all of us, to have a good time, amuse one another, and engage in a social recreation. That’s it. Every element of the game should be orchestrated to increase the fun of everyone involved. That’s the simple litmus we have to ask ourselves: does this choice make the game more fun, or less fun? I’d recommend going with more fun.

The players are not their characters.

Fun for the players, that is. And that’s an important distinction for the players. “The most fun for everyone involved” doesn’t mean “the characters get everything they want.” It might mean “Horrible things happen that terribly scar the characters” which, admittedly, can be quite entertaining for the players who control them.

So separate what you want, as a player, from the desires of your character. Yeah, I guess “I want my player to see all their dreams come true” is a legitimate drive, but it’s honestly a little solipsistic. This isn’t your story. It’s the story of the ensemble.

We really can’t make any broad generalizations that cover all gaming groups, but what we can do is examine what makes good stories. The general pattern for narrative fiction is:

“Someone wants something and they are repeatedly thwarted in getting it until they either overcome their flaws, embrace change, and succeed, or fail to adapt and fail.”

Clearly a roleplaying game isn’t static narrative fiction, but we can agree that the struggle is usually more entertaining than the reward, and that the reward is only given merit by how hard the characters had to work to get it.

So yes. Your goals as a player should not be your goals as a character. Your goal, in my opinion, should be to tell an entertaining story about fictional characters with your friends.

The Contract

This isn’t so much a literal contract as it is an understanding between equals.

Your Job, as Players is to portray a driven character whose choices and actions are interesting, entertaining, and enhance the play experience for your fellow gamers. Roleplaying is choices. Make the choices that make the game better for everyone.

Your Job, as GM is to provide the players with a context in which to tell this story. Give them goals that appeal to their drives. Reward their trust by playing fair. Design encounters to allow them to shine. Make the choices that make the game better for everyone.

And remember. Failure can be just as interesting as success. You, players, are not here to succeed. You are here to express character in an interesting and entertaining fashion. And you, GM, are here to provide them with opportunity to do so.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

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Book Nouveau Migration

About a year ago I started a book blog at http://www.booknouveau.com focused on indie and self-published books, because frankly, I was frustrated with how difficult it can be to find a good book in today’s cluttered market. Book bloggers are the new gatekeepers, and I wanted to do my part with the more obscure titles.

So I reviewed books. Not often, and not regularly… I didn’t have as much time to read as I’d have liked… but I managed to get through a few.

About a month or so ago I shifted to a book vlog or booktube, recording video reviews and putting them up on the Book Nouveau YouTube channel, seeking to tap into the larger community of book reviewers already there. It’s been a lot of fun.

Time passes, things change

As 2014 draws to a close, it’s time for the next evolution of Book Nouveau, as I’m going to be shutting down that particular wordpress blog, and posting my reviews here, instead. It’s a lot less maintenance for me. I’m going to try and do one review a week in the Book Nouveau category, so you’re welcome to follow that if you want insight into books not written by me.

For whatever reason.

Check it out.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

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Review: On the Isle of Sound and Wonder by Alyson Grauer

Title: On the Isle of Sound and Wonder
Author: Alyson Grauer
Genre: Steampunk

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

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Review: Descent Macabre by Kat O’Connor

Title: Descent Macabre
Author: Kat O’Connor
Genre: Psychological Horror

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

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Upcoming Appearances

I’ve got a few more podcast appearances coming up:

Toxic Bag Productions

Toxic Bag Productions makes digital sound effects DVDs for role-playing games, publishes books, and produces board games. It’s all cool stuff. I’ll probably be talking about games or something, maybe the web series, I don’t know. I’m really looking forward to it, though.

We’ll be talking to them next week, and the podcast should be live the first week of January.

Alcohollywood

On the sixteenth I’ll be recording with Alcohollywood. We’ll be watching a movie and inventing a drinking game to go along with it. Good fun. It should be a blast. We’re talking with them on the 16th, and the podcast should be live by the end of that week.

In both cases, links will be provided when I have them.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

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Old Maps Online

Here’s something cool. Well, at least I think it’s cool.

Old Maps Online is a portal to historical maps all over the world. You can use a Google-Maps-like interface to search for digitized historical maps in hundreds of collections, vastly simplifying the process.

I use old maps a lot when I’m writing and when I’m plotting out games, so this resource is a huge time-saver for me. Maybe you’ll find it helpful, too.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

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Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo 18: Revision

Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month

Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo is a multi-part series on writing, creativity, and the work-life balance throughout the month of November. Today we’re talking about revision.

Have you let your story simmer for at least two weeks, preferably around a month? Good. It’s time to revise.

Set the mood

You’ve now got to switch from right brain creativity to left brain analysis. That’s why we let the story simmer, so we could approach it as an editor. Similarly, don’t revise where you write. Change it up a bit. Revise in the environment you read in. Print it out, sit in your favorite chair, grab a pen.

Stage 1: Fight!

I mean, read. Just give the story a read-through. Resist the temptation to fix anything, but make notes as you go. Just read it like a reader would and get a sense of the story’s flow. As you notice problems of pacing or character development, make notes, but don’t get super analytical yet.

Stage 2: Enhance. Enhance.

Read it again, this time paying attention to the structural details. Is each character’s arc a smooth progression? Does it make sense, or do you need to justify their internal changes a bit more fully.

Focus on each scene individually. Is it structurally sound? Does it lead logically to the next scene?

Again, take notes, but don’t go fixing everything yet.

Stage 3: Repair

Okay now take all your notes and add or remove what you need to to fix the problems you’ve noticed.

Stage 4: Polish

Read your story out loud. Listen to the words, the way they flow. Does it sound funny? It’ll read funny. This is where you show off your skill with the language. Be evocative. Make sure your details are concrete and specific. Make that story shine like a diamond.

Stage 5: Borrow some eyes

Writers are the worst judge of their own work. No, don’t argue. Just accept it. Sorry.

So grab a fresh pair of eyes and the person they’re embedded in, and make that person your beta-reader. The closer they are to your target audience, the better. Bribe them with cookies if you have to. Don’t give them a lot in the way of instructions, other than that you should be more interested in problems with story and pacing than grammar.

Though honestly, fix any grammatical problems they find. It’ll save you time and $ with an editor.

Okay, so after they tell you what works and what doesn’t, consider it. They’re not the boss of you, so you’re not really bound to fix everything they say doesn’t work, but don’t just dismiss their opinions. They’re better at this – reading your story – than you are.

Neil Gaiman said it best:

Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.

Let that be your guide.

Anyway, fix whatever you deem needs to be fixed.

Stage 6: Editor

Okay, you might actually go through the above stages a few times, your call. But eventually you’re going to want to get an actual editor to look at the thing. There’s different types of editors and they charge different amounts of money, but that’s outside the scope of this guide, and is really only something you need to worry about if you’re going pro.

What you have now is a manuscript ready for an editor… either a freelancer you’ve hired if you’re going to self-publish, or an acquisition editor at a publishing house.

So that’s it. End of this NaNoWriMo series. I hope it helped you out, and made your November run a little more smoothly. I wish you the best of luck.

Did this help? Let me know in the comments section.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

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Magick Radio Chicago

My Burning Brigid co-producer Kat O’Connor and I sat in on a broadcast of the Magick Radio Chicago program. A big thanks to Summer and Drew for having us!

You can download the mp3 of the broadcast here.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

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